NOWIN RACIAL JUSTICE

The Sharkeisha Punch Viral Video Isn’t Funny, It’s Brutal

It’s been more than a week since video of an assault by one teenage black girl over another went viral. The video shows one girl, 16-year-old Sharkeisha, sucker punching a former friend, 17-year-old Shamichael Manuel. The video of a black person in distress, like somany othersbefore it, has become a joke for some viewers, with some viewers making racist comments about the girls’ names. But, as Demetria L. Lucas pointed out over at The Root, the real tragedy is how many people enjoyed watching the video:

This isn’t funny. At all. It’s a vulgar display of violence, a tragic depiction of someone who lacks anger management and humanity and a shocking example of just how wayward some teens are. Sharkeisha’s reaction to a petty dispute over, likely, a boy who didn’t care about either of these girls is a clear-cut case of assault. This isn’t entertainment to get through the workday. The way that girl was kicked in the face could have resulted in her death.

To that point, the victim in the video has spoken out to local Houston news stations about how the popularity of her assault has impacted her life.

Read this online at http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/12/as_the_sharkeisha_punch_goes_viral_victim_speaks_out.html

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